Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Full Moon in June

Rhymes so nicely, I'll just have to celebrate with poetry this month! Watch for the lunar lushness to come into full-fullness on June 15 at 20:18.

The Owl and the Pussycat was one of my first bedtime stories. I still remember my mother's dramatic recitations. From solemn to swooning... over the top and perfect for the single-digit set. This is supposed to be a "nonsense poem" but I don't see anything non-sensical about it! Full of wise advice and touching on so many critical subjects: love & marriage, sailing, dancing in the moonlight and fine dining with runcible spoons!

This June moon is known as the strawberry moon so it is a perfect excuse to eat the fresh fruit (with a runcible spoons, of course!). Ontario strawberries are in the stores now and bursting with flavour. Not quite as big as their Southern cousins, they have such an intense flavour. Just 2 or 3 grains of sugar are more than enough to enhance the natural sweetness. And of course, the roses are starting to open, right on cue. (June moons are also known as Rose Moons)

Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand. They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon, They danced by the light of the moon.

About Me

This anthology is good company! Bought it in a small independent bookstore in Hawaii (the most Western independent bookstore in the USA ). Full of wisdom and fantastic writing, and perfect to read next to the majestic crashing surf.

A mass murderer ends up in a coma and a doctor feeds him experimental drugs, with the result that the man develops supernatural powers of mind control. From his bed he enters heads and plants such disparaging thoughts people kill themsel...

I read this to entertain myself before we headed off on our vacation, and ended up gaining a great appreciation for how diverse the islands are, with so many different cultures colliding in recent history. The Polynesians came to inhabit...

Monarchs are endangered by climate change, and in this book they are on the verge of extinction. Kingsolver's writing was beautiful and insightful. She painted with words so well.
Our book club discussion that night jumped back and fort...